EDUCATION OVERSIGHT BOARD RELEASES SCHOOL REPORT CARDS, DISTRICT REPORTS AND STATE REPORT. ANOUNCES PROGRESS OF OKLAHOMA SCHOOL PERFORMANCE REVIEW PROGRAM Contact: Robert Buswell or Matt Hesser      (405) 225-9470 July 5, 2007   OKLAHOMA CITY – The Education Oversight Board is proud to announce the release of Profiles 2006, the most recent fulfillment of the reporting requirements under the Oklahoma Educational Indicators Program. The Profiles series is compiled by the Office of Accountability and consists of three components; the State Report, the District Report, and the School Report Cards. The Profiles 2006 State Report contains tables, graphs, maps, and accompanying text covering state-level educational issues. The two-volume Profiles 2006 District Report looks at each of Oklahoma's 540 public school districts and reports over 100 data elements on each. It presents demographic data, educational processes statistics and figures on student performance. The 2006 School Report Cards cover similar information on each of Oklahoma's 1,770 public school sites. The Profiles Reports aid parents and school patrons in monitoring the effectiveness of their local districts. Mr. Gerald Dickerson, Chairman of the Education Oversight Board, and a member of the Oklahoma Educators Hall of Fame, said, "These Documents are the most comprehensive and consistent source of educational data in the state. Oklahomans, parents especially, should look to these documents when assessing the efforts and achievements of their local school system." Senator Judy Eason McIntyre, Co-Chair of the Senate Education Committee added, "These documents should be used by parents and the community as means of starting dialogue with teachers, administrators and their local school board. They can complement the school system on things it has done right and can work with them on strategies for areas of weakness." "The Office of Accountability is approaching 2 million web-based downloads of the School Report Cards, and consistently has over 100,000 documents downloaded each month. People are interested in the performance of their public schools and our website is a one-stop shop for their data needs." said Robert Buswell, Executive Director of the Office of Accountability. With the addition of Profiles 2006 there will be 10 years worth of Educational Indicator data available on the Office of Accountability's website. The Office of Accountability has been producing report cards and statistical reports for over 12 years and the district report is the office's most comprehensive work. Representative Tad Jones, Chair of the House Education Committee stated, "One of the most important parts of the District Report is the community grouping model. It allows districts to compare their performance against that of their peers." The grouping model considers both a district's enrollment and the socio-economic status of its students when categorizing districts into one of 16 possible groups. Jones explained, "School officials can look to other districts that are in similar circumstances and identify those that have figured out how to excel in teaching, say, third grade math, or Algebra I. They can then make contact with those districts and try to understand what they are doing differently and then maybe adapt those strategies to their own district." Oklahoma School Performance Review (OSPR) is another program administered by the Office of Accountability. OSPR was created by the Legislature in 2001 and is designed to help school districts streamline operations which can redirect more money into classroom instruction and lead to improved student performance. As a part of each review, educational and management consultants conduct onsite evaluations, study district data, interview stakeholders and hold public meetings. The consultants then produce a report evaluating the following areas; 1) District Organization, Management, and Personnel, 2) Instructional Delivery, 3) Business Operations, 4) Facility Use and Management, and 5) Support Services (technology, food services, and transportation). Each report includes commendations, recommendations, and estimates of savings in each of these areas. Here is what Senator Kathleen Wilcoxson, Co-Chair of the Education Committee of the Senate had to say about the program, "I have been very pleased with the progress of this program that I helped to create. Nineteen reviews have either been completed or are underway and the feedback that we have received from the superintendents and board members has been phenomenal. The process allows the school districts to showcase their successes and helps them identify areas of weakness in a healthy, productive, non-threatening manner. Furthermore, the consultants offer detailed strategies that other districts across the country have used to solve problems and the district is free to utilize the provided strategy, modify it to their own liking, or come up with a solution of their own to tackle the problem. I am just really proud to be working with the Office of Accountability on this program and to be helping to improve education in Oklahoma." To date, nine OSPR reports have been completed, one more will be released by the end of July, and three additional reviews will be completed in the fall of 2007. Six reviews are currently underway. These detailed reviews take approximately eight to ten months to complete. School Performance Reviews are contracted out under the supervision of the Office of Accountability staff. Review teams are selected for the credentials of their members, the quality of the work plan submitted, the experience of the team and the value to the State of Oklahoma and the schools being reviewed. If a district's API score is below the state average API score then the Office of Accountability can fund 100% of the cost of a review. Those districts with API scores at or above the state average will pay 25% of the cost. Costs of the reviews vary depending upon the size of the district. For more information about the Oklahoma Educational Indicators program or the Oklahoma School Performance Review program contact the Office of Accountability at (405) 225-9470, visit www.SchoolReportCard.org, or look for the Profiles 2006 reports in your local library. --###--